A Beijing lawyer working in Vancouver has engaged in illegal insider trading, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has alleged.
Weiqing Jane Jin was hired as a consultant for an undisclosed Vancouver law firm in February 2009. Mineral exploration company Hathor Exploration Ltd. was a client of this firm.
Jin was assigned to work with Hathor in July 2011. On August 12, 2011, Jin was copied on an email pertaining to an agreement between Hathor and a nuclear power company, CGNPC Uranium Resource Co. Ltd., which was interested in Hathor’s uranium property holdings.
Between August 15 and August 22 of that year, Jin purchased 12,000 shares of Hathor at an average of $2.83 per share.
On August 26, 2011, the confidential information became public and Hathor’s share price jumped to $4.20 per share, giving Jin a net profit of more than $16,000.
The BCSC alleges that Jin breached securities laws by trading securities based on material information that had not yet been made public.
A panel to set a hearing date will meet on September 3.
None of these allegations has been proven in court.
